Breeding and Characterization of Early-maturing, Ratoon-suitable, High-sucrose Sugarcane Mintang 11610

Objective  A new sugarcane variety of high yield, high sucrose content, strong ratooning ability, and superb stress resistance was bred.

Method  A sexual hybridization breeding program, "Five-nursery System," was applied using Yuenong 73-204 as the female parent and CP72-1210 as the male parent for the breeding. Morphology and production of the new sugarcane variety were evaluated at official trials.

Results  The Mintang 11610 plant had a medium to large stem and superb performances on seedling emergence, tillering ability, stalk formation, lodging resistance, and ratooning ability. In the 2015-2020 trials, it showed a convincing 15.11% higher average cane yield of 154.261 t·hm⁻², 1.43% higher sucrose content (in absolute value) of 16.30%, 26.18% higher crop sugar yield of 25.145 t·hm⁻², 31.40% higher perennial root cultivated cane yield of 168.574 t·hm⁻², 1.07% higher sucrose content (in absolute value) of 16.79%, and 40.34% higher sugar yield of 28.304 t·hm⁻² than those of control. It was officially approved a national non-major crop variety in December 2023 with the registration number of “GPD Sugarcane (2023) 350009.”

Conclusion  Mintang 11610 was an officially certified early-maturing, high-yield, high-sucrose, premium ratooning sugarcane with broad adaptability and stable yield.